More click, new boom

Rumors swirled last year that Saliva would be no more. The once Grammy-nominated and platinum recording rockers that gave us hits such as “Your Disease,” “Click Click Boom,” “Always” and “Ladies and Gentlemen” would end its 15-year run after singer Josey Scott left the band at the end of 2011.

But the three remaining members dealt with the adversity and sought a new vocalist, which led to Bobby Amaru. The 28-year-old Jacksonville, Florida native is a former drummer turned singer-songwriter that has brought new life into Saliva.

The band is no stranger to Southeast Texas as they’ve included Beaumont on several of their past tours including their last stop on Aug. 12, 2011 on the Under the Skin of Angels Tour with Filter. But this will be the first time that fans will get a chance to see and hear the band with it’s new lead singer.Saliva will perform at The Gig on Crockett Street on Thursday, Feb. 23. Doors will open at 8 p.m. and tickets to the 18 and older show are $15. For show information call (409) 839-8300. Opening will be Fallen Within and Siva Addiction.

The Examiner spoke with drummer Paul “Peepers” Crosby about the past, present and future of Saliva.

Did the band see the split coming with Josey?

About a year and half ago, Josey got really involved in his church and began alienating himself from the band. He was trying to commit himself to his church and that’s hard to do with this type of lifestyle. I can’t say we did see it coming, but it wasn’t a total surprise. It was going to happen eventually because he just wasn’t having fun anymore. He wanted to spend more time with his family and give his life to God and we respect him for that.

Was it an issue to keep Saliva alive?

We originally were just going to disband the group. We even talked about myself, Wayne (Swinny, guitar) and Dave (Novotny, bass) starting over and just creating an entire new band, but we got to thinking that we have put 15 years of our lives into this and Saliva is a brand name. Why do we need to start over at square one? A lot of bands keep going with new singers such as Drowning Pool and others.

How did you hook up with Bobby?

We began looking for singers and asked friends in the industry and Bobby’s name kept popping up. We called him up and started writing songs and it instantly worked. We told him to make it yours, but at the same time, we want to keep the old songs relatively like they are because the core fans have grown accustomed to how they are. The main difference is the actual live show. He heavily involves the crowd in between songs and we like that.

How has the reaction been with him on stage?

Man, I tell you every show has been packed and these fans have been blown away. Many of them told us after the show that this is the best version of Saliva that they have ever heard. It’s a great feeling. It’s brought new life into the band. Like I said, Josey got to the point where he just didn’t want to be a part of the band and that reflected on stage. Now that Bobby is with us, the band has an entire new energy among us. We are happy.

With a new single on the radio, is there a new album in the works?

We sent ‘All Around the World’ to radio and that was one of three new songs we have recorded with Bobby and fans will get to hear two of those new songs. We hope to have a new record out in mid or late summer. We are in negotiations now with a major label to sign a deal, so things are looking pretty good for Saliva.

While we harbor no disrespect for the Wall Street Journal who called us “that scrappy little paper from Southeast Texas,” we prefer to think of ourselves as simple seekers of the truth. We’re of the opinion that headlines and sound bites never tell the whole story. Our readers demand all the facts, facets and flavors of every story or event. And, they expect to be informed, educated and stirred to action.